Zeng Li: A rueful look at how censorship works in China

Three days into his retirement, Zeng Li (曾礼) died yesterday at
age 61, apparently of intestinal bleeding. Surprisingly, his March 28 farewell
letter has spread across China's social media
sites and blogs. The letter is an apology, an explanation of sorts, and an admission
of regret regarding the latter
part of his career. Zeng served in Southern
Weekly's internal censorship program--his title there most likely translates
best as "news examiner."

Looking back on the last four years, I made mistakes. I have
killed some drafts that I shouldn't have killed, I have deleted some content
that I shouldn't have deleted, but in the end I woke up, I would rather not
carry out my political mission than go against my conscience, I don't want be a
sinner against history.

Zeng had come to a degree of prominence in January, when
staff at the famously liberal weekly (also translated as Southern Weekend) went
on strike for three days, protesting heavy handed censorship-- rewriting,
actually--of a Southern Weekly New
Year greeting. The piece advocated constitutionalism and respect for rule of
law, and was replaced with a pro-government message. Qian Gang, director of
Hong Kong University's China Media Project, says a blog post by Zeng, "Who
Revised the New Year's Greeting at Southern Weekly?," was instrumental in bringing the
ugliness of these censorship tactics to light.

Zeng was not the author of the January editorial that raised
the furor, nor was he the government censor who rewrote the copy--that dubious
distinction belongs to Tuo Zhen, the Guangdong provincial propaganda chief. Zeng's
role, one that had been established around 2008, was to head off exactly the type
of confrontation over censorship that hit the paper in January. His job was to
act like a buffer, moderating between the push for more open reporting--which came
from field and writing staff and was driven by the growing expectation of
readers who look to Southern Weekly for
its more liberal, aggressive journalism--and the censors from the various
departments of propaganda who watched for violations. He and others in the role
were known as Old Comrades by the younger staff. His job wasn't glamorous, and by
its nature was intended to be anonymous, but the staff at the paper knew full
well his role.

You might think that he was not admired by the staff at Southern Weekly, but the comments appearing
online, especially on social
media platforms, show an appreciation for the man and the role he played.
His nickname was a respectful "Old Zeng" and there are many references to
sharing a drink with him after work.

We examined China's increasingly complex censorship regime--
including the January blowup at Southern
Weekly--in our special report, "Challenged
in China: The shifting dynamics of censorship and control," which is also
available in Chinese as
a PDF. It's worth noting that the Chinese version has made it through
China's firewall (where CPJ.org seems to be regularly but not constantly
blocked) and has been downloaded more than any other non-English PDF we have
posted. It is still being widely circulated via social media. If you're in
China or communicating with colleagues there, it would be great if you could
share it with those you know.

Bob Dietz, coordinator of CPJ’s Asia Program, has reported across the continent for news outlets such as CNN and Asiaweek. He has led numerous CPJ missions, including ones to Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Follow him on Twitter @cpjasia and Facebook @ CPJ Asia Desk.